Made Of Glass
by emilie whoa
Summary: Invisible. Translucent. Peripheral character. I can't ever get what I want, though, can I?
1. I

**A/n:** -shrinks into fetal position- don't hate me! i swear, i didn't plan this. i just want to get into the groove of writing again. and i missed this. i'll admit it.

i promise i'll give you guys a little warning next time i decide to be a retard and quit abruptly. i'm planning on finishing Where You Want To Be, and possibly taking another look at My Way Home Is Through You. it might take me a while; i'm in college now, i have no privacy and practically no time alone. seriously. ugh.

so please don't expect updates like i used to do. i know, in a perfect world, that would be absolutely amazing, but i can only do so much.

tell me what you guys think of this, i want a lot of feedback. love you guys! enjoy!

**disclaimer:** i'm not cool enough to own Twilight.

* * *

It took him a few minutes to recognize me by the baggage carousel. When he did, he walked the few feet to stand in front of me and quirked an eyebrow. It was the most emotion I'd seen out of him since we'd met.

"Pink hair?" he asked, picking up a lock of my bangs and just as quickly dropping it.

I shrugged, smirked and gave my signature line. "It happens." He hadn't noticed the lip ring yet, and I definitely wasn't about to point it out to him. I was actually surprised he noticed my hair, of all things. It was a little ostentatious, come to think of it, though. So maybe him noticing wasn't that big of a deal.

We went silent, as per usual, and looked at each other for the longest time. It was incredibly awkward. I didn't think there was any situation more uncomfortable than this one. I tried to wrack my brain. Nope. Nothing.

I started nodding slowly, waiting for him to say something, but it just wasn't working. My hints were apparently too subtle for him.

"So," I said, rocking back on my heels, drawing out the word.

That seemed to knock him back into consciousness. "We should go," he said hurriedly.

I nodded again, curtly, and shifted my backpack on my left shoulder. When I bent down to capture my bags, though, they were gone. I looked up, confused. My father was already walking away, bags in hand. Well, at least he was nice enough to do _that_.

The car ride was silent, except for my iPod, which was strategically placed in my right ear and just low enough for Charlie not to hear it. No need to freak him out yet with my music. The hair was pushing it enough for one day.

He didn't even bother waiting for me when we pulled into the driveway in Forks. I took a second to observe the house before grabbing my stuff and going inside. So this was where he lived. It was cozy. If you liked the look of peeling paint, dirty windows, and ripped screens, that is. No wonder my mother left the guy.

I rolled my eyes and carefully stepped through the muddy lawn to the front door, which was still open, and walked through. Charlie was taking off his jacket and putting it in the hall closet, while pulling out another one.

He cleared his throat and spoke for the first time since the airport. "Your room is upstairs, second door on the left. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. I have to go to work; I won't be home until late. There's food in the kitchen, help yourself."

I blinked, stunned into silence for a second. I think that was the most I'd ever hear my father speak. Literally.

"Um, yeah," I said, shaking my head. I put on a smile, fake as can be, but he bought it. He said a quiet goodbye and left again, closing the front door behind him.

- - - - -

I spent about forty-five minutes wandering around the house, getting myself acquainted with my new surroundings. I thought for a moment about possibly calling my mother, but quickly killed that train of thought. I couldn't call her now. That option was, unfortunately, impossible at this present time.

I did some heavy lifting in my bedroom, rearranging the furniture to better fit the limited space I had (and make it as close to my old room as possible. Of course). I sighed when I realized I couldn't hold off on unpacking much longer. It was then that the whole reality of the situation hit me like a deer in headlights. I really was in Forks. I really was living with Daddy Dearest. I really wanted to kill myself.

Ugh. I needed a cigarette and my best friend.

So, in an attempt to further distract myself from the truth that had become my life, I grabbed a pack of cigarettes, my iPod and my cell phone and left the house.

I didn't exactly know where I was going, so I picked a direction and just started walking. I stuck an ear bud in one ear and shoved my iPod into the front pocket of my jeans. I was glad it wasn't so cold at the moment, although that probably wouldn't have deterred me from my plans anyway. I would have left that house if it was snowing. Okay, that's a lie, but still.

After dialing Cara's number and getting her voicemail, I groaned with as much enthusiasm as I could muster without crying and put my phone in my back pocket. I was hoping she wasn't too busy with her son to call me back a-sap.

It was at this point that I realized I didn't remember to bring a lighter.

Damn it.

That just left me with listening to music, trying not to cry, waiting for Cara and having a massive need for nicotine. I was officially in hell.

- - - - -

In the time it took my best friend to call me, I had gotten myself sufficiently lost. How, I don't know, but I seemed to be good at getting lost. I was always doing it back in Phoenix, except it was worse because I should have known where I was going in the first place.

"You don't recognize anything, do you?" Cara asked with a gurgling 20 month old in the background.

I sighed. "No," I whined. "This is so not cool."

I could just tell she was rolling her eyes at me. "It's your fault you got yourself lost, Bells."

She'd been saying stuff like that ever since we met my freshman year in high school. She was an army brat, so she'd seen her share of new homes and new schools, and it just so happened that she moved to Phoenix that time around. We were kindred spirits; she understood me, I understood her and all was right with the world when we got together. I'd never met anyone like her and I doubted I ever would.

Cara was two years older than me (hence the baby and fiancée) so according to her, she knew so much more than me. Sure, she had the life experience since she did get pregnant senior year, and she'd been around the block (so to speak), but still, I felt like a child every time she chided me. I'd never admit that, though, because she'd just have a field day with that kind of information.

I sighed again and continued walking down the tree lined street. It was too green here. I was used to desert; browns and warm colors. This didn't fly with me. At least I wasn't completely immersed in forest. Every now and then I would pass what looked like warehouses. I hoped they were warehouses, at least, and not those places that serial killers take their victims to torture them to death. Okay, distraction please!

"Maybe if I keep walking I'll get back to the right place," I said, more to myself than anything.

"Yeah, if you're walking the right direction," Cara snorted, which caused Evan to laugh.

"Distract me, please. Forks is so much creepier than I thought it would be." Of course, I wasn't exactly sure I was even still _in _Forks.

"Um," she said, struggling for a topic. "How was meeting father dearest?"

My shoulders slumped. Of all the things for her to ask me, she had to talk about that, didn't she? Cara was the only person (aside from my mother) who knew about my dad and my relationship with him. And while she related somewhat, it still wasn't the same. I didn't think anyone would truly understand how I felt about Charlie and how he felt about me.

"I'm sorry, honey," Cara apologized. "I love you. You don't have to talk about it."

"No," I said softly. "It's fine. The airport was weird. And he actually said more than four words to me. I don't know how I'm going to live with him for two years, but I guess I'll have to deal."

"It'll be over before you know it, I promise."

I felt the pain clutch at my stomach again for the millionth time. I hated this subject. I hated thinking and knowing that I had family that would much rather take me in and yet they couldn't. I hated these stupid child laws and I hated social services for thinking they were doing what was best for me. What did they know about me anyhow? All I was to them was another kid with a dead mom and a cigarette habit. I was another problem on their hands that was easily dealt with by shoving me into my father's capable reach. I had no say with them because I was still technically a minor.

Cara sighed, bringing me back into reality. "I miss you," she said lamely, changing the subject.

I almost started crying right there. "I miss you too."

We didn't talk again for a few minutes. I noticed the warehouses had dissipated and I was in a more residential area. Okay, so more like one or two houses, but they were houses all the same.

"Hey, Care," I said, interrupting her rant about her fiancée. "Can I call you back? I think I found a house. Maybe they can help me."

"**Don't** get raped, okay?" she said sternly. "I love you. I want you alive the next time I talk to you."

I laughed. "I love you, too. And tell Evan I say hi and I miss him and I better be able to talk to him next time."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll call you when I get home, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," she replied and I heard her snap her phone shut.

I practically ran my way up the mostly hidden driveway until it opened up into an almost meadow. In front of me lay possibly the biggest house I'd ever seen (in person anyway). It was at least three stories high and god knew how many square feet. I was about to walk up to the front door when I heard a bang and some muttering. I turned to my left and saw what could only be the garage, but damn it was huge, too.

There were two people, a guy and a girl, tinkering under the hood of a shiny silver Volvo. As I neared them, they got clearer and clearer until I could make out every detail but their faces.

"Um," I said, stopping about ten feet away. "Sorry to bother, but, could you possibly help me?"

Both boy and girl looked up at me, startled at my sudden appearance. They must have been really into whatever it was they were doing, because I knew for a fact that I wasn't, at all, trying to be quiet about my approach.

They stared at me for a few minutes and I took the time to assess their looks. They both looked to be about my age, maybe a year or two older. I would have pegged the boy to be one of those Indie guys I'd seen at shows all the time in Phoenix (you know…the guys who wore tight white v-necks with vests, skinny jeans and chucks and had tattoos covering both arms) if I didn't notice his completely designer outfit. He had the most beautiful hair I'd ever seen and I was completely jealous because I knew it would never be fully replicated in the hair dye process. The girl looked like she could be on any catwalk in the world. Even wearing the grease stained shirt and jeans, she was easily the most gorgeous woman I'd ever laid eyes on. The two looked nothing like alike, except for their beauty and the color of their eyes. Their eyes were exactly the same in every way.

"Ugh," I groaned, when they didn't answer my question. "I'm probably totally interrupting. I'm so sorry, I'll just go now."

When I turned to leave, though, the guy stopped me.

"You're lost?" he asked and I could hear the girl mutter something to him but he ignored her. I immediately fell in love with his voice. I would have swooned right there if I knew I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself.

"Just a little," I shrugged, turning back around. "I'm new around here so I have no idea where anything is. If you could just direct me back to town I should be able to find my way home."

"Did you walk here?" the girl asked, looking at me curiously. Her voice was just as silky smooth as the boy's, but it wasn't as attractive to me.

"Uh, yeah, I did actually."

"Well, it's about a three mile hike back to town," the guy informed me. Great, three miles and god knew how much longer back to Charlie's house.

I was about to say thank you and ask which way to walk when the he started talking again. "If you want to wait a few minutes for my sister and me to finish up with my car, I can drive you back."

My face instantly lit up. "Would you?"

He seemed to like my reaction. "Yeah, sure. I'm Edward by the way, and that's Rosalie. I'd shake your hand but you probably don't want grease all over the place."

"I'm Bella," I replied. "Nice to meet you, and thanks for not greasing my hands."

He laughed and turned back to his previous task. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before turning away and walking up to the front porch. I walked up two of the steps and sat down, hoping I wasn't being too bold in doing so. Edward and Rosalie didn't seem to mind, though, as they didn't even look up from their work.

I sighed and rested my elbows on my thighs and put my hands under my chin. I looked around the yard and marveled at its beauty. This place was like a sanctuary in the middle of the forest. It felt like a completely different world with the wide open space and couple scattered trees.

As my eyes continued to roam, they slowed when I came to the Volvo and stopped completely when Edward was dead center in my view. I couldn't see his face, but just seeing him was enough to make me want to hyperventilate. I didn't understand the feeling I was getting when I looked at him. Sure, I'd had butterflies in the past when I had a crush on someone at school, but this was something entirely different. This was something that could potentially be disastrous.

I faintly heard the front door open and close behind me. Someone sat next to me, startling me for a second.

A tinkling giggle filled the air. "Sorry," the person said. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I thought I'd heard somebody out here and I wanted to investigate. We don't get many visitors around here."

I looked to my left and I could have sworn I was hallucinating. I would have bet my life that the girl sitting beside me was a fairy, but they weren't real, so I quickly pushed that thought aside. She looked at me and smiled and, as if it was contagious, I smiled too.

"Did that hurt?" she asked, staring at my face and crinkling her nose a little.

"Did what hurt?"

"Your piercing. I've never met anyone with one before, so I've never been able to ask, but I've always thought they'd be slightly painful."

"Oh," I laughed. "It didn't hurt at all, actually. And that's saying something because I'm a total baby when it comes to pain."

"You know smoking is bad for you, right?" she said, turning her attention to the pack of cigarettes still in my hand.

I nodded, and couldn't help myself from making a smart ass comment. "I _think_ I've heard that somewhere before."

The girl next to me just laughed, though. "I like your sense of humor, even if you are slowly killing yourself."

"Thanks…" I trailed off, not knowing her name.

She caught the implication immediately and smacked herself in the forehead. "Where are my manners?" she rolled her eyes. "I'm Alice, Alice Cullen."

"Bella Swan," I responded.

"I really like your hair," she blurted suddenly.

I looked at her for a second and then burst out laughing. "Thanks," I said, still giggling.

"No really," Alice kept going. "Pink really suits you. And I don't really listen to All Time Low, but I like that shirt, too. And I'm thinking I might have to get some more skinny jeans."

"Are you on a compliment spree, or am I just special?"

Alice laughed. "You're just special, Bella. I think I'll go to Seattle soon and get some new jeans."

I shook my head quickly. "You don't really have to do that. I made all my jeans."

"You did?"

"Mhm," I nodded. "All you have to do is re-hem them. It's super easy and way cheaper. More comfortable, too, actually, because they're practically custom."

"Huh," she said. "You'll have to show me sometime."

I smirked. "I guess I will."

We stopped talking after that, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all. I started playing with the cigarettes in my hand and tried not to think too much about them. I was desperately in need of one and the withdrawal symptoms were starting to kick in. if I didn't get home and to a lighter soon, I was going to go crazy.

As if on cue, I heard the hood of the Volvo shut and two pairs of feet come toward Alice and me. I looked up just in time to see Edward stop in front of me and Rosalie start climbing to the stairs.

"Done already?" I asked.

"There wasn't much left to do," Edward said. "I see you've met my other sister."

Beside me, Alice glared at her brother. "It isn't a crime, Edward."

"I wasn't saying it was."

She sighed and stood up. "Be careful on the road, it's going to start raining again soon. Bye Bella, I hope I see you at school tomorrow."

As Alice went back into the house, I looked up at the sky and noticed the clouds were visibly darker. She was right; it was going to rain soon. She was good.

When I looked back at Edward he rolled his eyes and smiled at me. "You ready to go?"

I smiled back and nodded and followed him over to his car. I was about to open the passenger side door when I heard the yell.

"Wait!" Edward and I stopped short and looked to the house just in time to see Alice running down the stairs, frantic. Edward looked at her, his eyes narrowing and then, out of nowhere, his face grew tight and void of emotion.

He strode over to his sister, towering over her. It was the first time I noticed how short Alice was. She honestly was _tiny_. She whispered something in Edward's ear and I caught them both glancing over at me before going back to their conversation. I felt out of place suddenly, like I shouldn't be there at all. I wanted to hide myself and become invisible.

"Hey Bella," Alice called suddenly.

I'm sure I looked utterly confused when I looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I drive you home instead of my brother?" My stomach dropped. Damn. I was hoping to get to know him better. Perhaps create a friendship. Or something more. I definitely wouldn't mind. "Our dad needs him for something here and it can't wait."

I tried not to look too disappointed as I answered. "As long as I get home, I'm good," I said, lifting my hands as if in surrender.

Alice smiled at me and then said something else to her brother before they both turned to face me.

"Sorry," he apologized, smiling apologetically. "Next time for sure."

"I'm holding you to that, I hope you know."

Edward's smile grew. "I'll be sure not to disappoint."

And with that, he turned abruptly and walked toward his house.

- - - - -

Alice smiled wryly at me as we stepped into her brother's Volvo.

"You like him." She stated bluntly.

I hid my face in my hands and tried as hard as I could not to blush too much. This was thoroughly embarrassing. My new friend laughed and turned the key in the ignition.

We were silent as Alice maneuvered the car down the driveway.

"I wish I could give you directions, it'd be so much easier," I said, breaking the silence.

Alice waved a hand in my direction and hung a sharp left at the end of the drive. "No worries. Everyone knows where the chief of police lives."

I cringed, I hated being associated with that. "You know I'm the chief's daughter?"

"The last name kind of gave it away."

I nodded in agreement and then turned my head to look out the window. There were a few water streaks on the glass; it was starting to rain. Wow, Alice was like a little personal weather girl. A few seconds later I heard the windshield wipers drag across the windshield.

"So what brings you to Forks, Bella?" Alice asked. It was a lighthearted question, completely normal to ask the new girl, but of course I choked.

I cleared my throat. "Um," I hesitated. Should I tell her the truth this early in our friendship? Or should I lie? I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to even answer the question. Evasive maneuvers worked best anyway. "It's a long boring story," I said, putting on my best fake smile. I wondered if it would work as well as it did with Charlie.

"You're lying," Alice chided, not taking her eyes off the road. "But that's okay. You'll tell me eventually."

I breathed a sigh of relief, which cause Alice to giggle. We didn't talk the rest of the way to Charlie's house.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, Bella," Alice smiled.

She was contagious; I found myself smiling too. "I'm sure I'll never be able to bet against you, so I'll just go with it. I'll see you tomorrow Alice."

With that, I waved goodbye and watched from the shelter of the porch as my new friend drove away.


	2. Tried

**A/n:** sorry it took so long. i told you before, this story really is going to take a while. i have a lot on my plate right now, not to mention i'm moving to Seattle three days before christmas, and i'm slightly stressing about that.

hope you guys like it. i only edited it once, because i wanted to get it out asap.

again. enjoy. i want feedback. thanks a lot for being patient. you guys are amazing.

* * *

The next morning I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept in years. I was going to have to do something about that mattress. I liked sleeping too much to be _that_ uncomfortable.

I rolled out of bed – literally – and fumbled my way to the bathroom. Luckily I made it without too many injuries (who needs a pinky toe anyhow?). After my shower, I spent way too much time in front of the mirror examining my fading pink hair. There was no way I was letting some amateur hair dresser experiment with my precious locks, and I couldn't exactly go to my stylist back home. There was no way I would trust myself to dye it, either, so I was just going to have to let it fade back to the blonde. Shame. I liked it pink.

Charlie worked swing shifts and was on call during the day, so he was still asleep when I had finished getting dressed and did my hair. With the amount of humidity it was now facing, I had to double the product I usually put in. I hoped it would stay put through the day or that would be a waste of straightening.

I thanked God that I didn't have to walk to school. Charlie, the ever so kind father that he was (sarcasm intended), bought me a prehistoric truck for my transportation. I stared at it through the kitchen window as I chomped on an apple. I guess it did have a little charm to it. Bright side, though, was that I was sure to survive in any kind of accident with another moving vehicle.

It was raining again (or still, I wasn't quite sure), so I had to make a run for it when I was ready to leave. I made it to the truck without getting too wet, and my hair wasn't frizzing up or turning wavy again, which was a good sign. One thing to be grateful for today.

The drive was easy and the school wasn't that hard to find. Forks was a tiny town. I turned into the parking lot and pulled the truck into one of the back spaces, far away from most of the student population.

As I walked through the parking lot toward the clump of buildings that was now my prison, I wondered how exactly I was going to find the office. Lucky for me, I passed by Alice just in time. I was glad I wouldn't have to ask a random stranger.

"Office?" I asked, pointing fingers every which way. I didn't stop walking.

She smiled and pointed in a general direction. "Keep walking straight and then hang a left after the quad."

"Thank you!" I called over my shoulder.

The office was exactly where Alice said it would be. I was assaulted by a gust of warm air as I opened the door and walked inside. It reminded me a lot of Phoenix, except in reverse. The hot air was usually blown in your face when you walked outside, not in. The office manager, a woman by the name of Ms. Cope, greeted me when she noticed I had entered. She eyed me strangely at first, pausing to stare at my piercing and working her way up to my hair. I was used to her reaction, though. I got it a lot back home.

"Can I help you with something, dear?" she asked, her voice overly sweet. I'm sure she was holding back from telling me what a juvenile delinquent I am.

"Um, yeah," I replied, leaning on my elbows on the counter in front of her desk. "I'm new here and I was wondering where I'm supposed to go to get my schedule."

"Isabella Swan?"

I nodded even though in my head I was cringing. I hated my full name. "Bella," I corrected politely.

The woman smiled and turned away from me. She shuffled through a pile of papers on her desk and pulled a couple sheets from the stack. "Here you are," she said, handing me the papers. "This is your schedule," she pointed to the top sheet, "and this is a map of the school," she pulled the bottom sheet to the top. "Have all your teachers sign your schedule and bring it back here at the end of the day."

"All right," I nodded. "Thanks so much."

- - - - -

My first class was just as I thought it would be: boring in the strongest sense of the word. A couple people tried to talk to me, a few more stared in my direction for longer than was appropriate, and more than that just flat out talked about me. I ignored them all.

I tried to escape to the classroom without having to talk to anybody but I got cornered by some blonde kid at the door.

"Uh, hi," he said, smiling at me. I was pretty sure he thought he was hot and that I was thinking about the same lines, but honestly I couldn't care less.

I had to talk to him nonetheless. It was my nicer side getting the better of me. "Hi."

Blondie took my response as clear encouragement. "Do you need help finding your next class?"

For those of you that don't know the set up of Forks High School, it's pretty damn simple. The clusterfuck of buildings surround the quad (you know…giant grassy areas in the middle of the school). Each block of classrooms is numbered (as in one, two, three, four… and so and so forth). I wasn't a retard. I could find building three easy enough.

"No thanks," I told him. "I think I'm good."

I moved around him and as soon as I got into the hall I took off as fast as I could. There was no way I was going to continue that conversation.

My next three classes went a hell of a lot like the first, with the exception that a couple of girls got me talking in second period. The first, a sort of shy, quiet girl named Angela Webber, was pretty cool. I liked her. The second, an obnoxious blonde by the name of Jessica Stanley, just wouldn't shut up. She was nice, I'll give her that, but other than that she didn't have much going for her. I was pretty sure she was trying to impress me, although why I honestly couldn't tell you. I was the farthest thing from cool, but according to this girl I guess I was.

I liked Angela the most because she actually looked at me without appraising. As much as I hated people seeing farther than the hair and the piercing, I didn't feel uncomfortable that she did. I could tell that if circumstances were different, we'd be best friends. She seemed too shy, though, which sucked, but I wasn't going to force her out of her shell. That was just cruel.

I was more than ecstatic when lunch rolled around. I had hoped that I could sit with Alice and company. They were the one's I'd been dying to see the whole day, anyway. Too bad it didn't work out that way; Jessica and Angela ambushed me in the lunch line.

"Come sit with us today, Bella," Jessica said, steering me toward a table inhabited by the type of people I would never be caught dead with in Phoenix. Blondie was sitting at the end.

I sent a pleading look at Alice and Edward who were staring at me. "Help," I mouthed.

They laughed. I glared. Not cool.

The rest of lunch consisted of some girl named Lauren throwing me dirty looks, a kid named Mike (A.K.A Blondie) blatantly checking me out and Angela periodically telling me she was sorry. I didn't understand why I was sitting with these people. People like this, the jocks and the preps, they usually avoided me in Phoenix. Forks was like the Twilight Zone, I swear.

I tried to say as little as possible. I tried, but it didn't work so well. Every question seemed to be aimed straight at me. Every topic of conversation seemed to revolve around me. I was about ready to stab myself with a spork.

"So why'd you come to Forks, Bella?" A new voice asked.

I looked up from the mess of food that was left on my plate only to see a kid with a bad acne problem smiling at me. He thought I was attractive. It was clearly obvious. Ugh.

Acne boy raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to answer his question. I shrugged. "It's complicated."

I could tell he thought my answer was strange, but I didn't care. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to talk about anything. I just wanted this day to be over. Or I wanted to be away from these people. Yes, that would definitely lighten my mood a hundred fold.

I dropped my head back down and focused once more on my food. I hoped everyone at the table had gotten the picture that I didn't want to socialize with them.

Someone nudged me. Clearly people in Forks did not get hints.

"What?" I asked, trying not to sound too hostile.

Jessica leaned closer to me so she could whisper in my ear. "Edward Cullen is staring at you," she said.

I looked up then and focused on the lunch table that I wished I was sitting at. Sure enough, Edward was staring at me. When he saw me looking, he smiled. I grinned back and gave a little wave.

Jessica grabbed my arm and shoved it down. My wrist made contact with the table and I was about to yell out in pain when she let go.

"What the hell was that?" She hissed as I rubbed my arm.

I shrugged like it was no big deal; they were just people, weren't they? "I met Edward and his sisters yesterday. They're actually really nice people. Alice gave me a lift home."

Jessica gaped at me like I was insane. "That's not possible. The Cullens and the Hales never talk to anyone. They live in their own little bubble. They are unattainable."

"Um," I hesitated, probably looking very confused. "They really aren't. I mean, don't get me wrong, Rosalie didn't seem to like me very much, but Alice is the sweetest girl I've ever met. And Edward…" I glanced back at him and practically swooned. "Don't even get me started."

Jessica stopped me right there. She nodded knowingly. "Oh, honey, I know exactly what you mean."

I didn't understand what Jessica meant that they were in their own little bubble. I mean, I could obviously see that they were definitely more attractive than anyone else in a five hundred mile radius, but to use that as an excuse to think they were better than the rest of the school? That seemed very unlikely, especially after what I witnessed yesterday. Had I been given more time with Alice, I knew we would have been best friends by the end of the night. Had Edward been the one to drive me home, I probably would have fallen in love with him already. The whole lot of them just seemed too good to be true and I had only technically met three of the five.

The bell indicating that lunch as over sounded and kids started getting up from their seats. I grabbed my tray and stumbled over to the trash can and disposed of my lunch.

"So what class do you have next?" Angela asked, coming up behind me.

I pulled my schedule out of my back pocket and looked for fifth period. "Uhh, biology."

"Oh, cool," she said. "Need any help finding it?"

I shook my head. "Thanks anyway, though."

As I walked out of the cafeteria, back into the cold, I was suddenly sandwiched in between two people. I looked left, it was Alice, and to my right was one of the Cullens I apparently hadn't met before. And with good reason. He was freaking huge!

I turned back to Alice and looked confused. She proceeded to explain.

"After school. Your house."

"Uhh." I probably looked so stupid. But then again, I looked stupid about ninety-nine percent of the time anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal. At least to those who were used to it.

"No exceptions," Incredible Hulk said.

I looked from Alice to him. "Who _are_ you?" I asked, gulping because I was honestly scared I was about to lose my life.

Instead, though, Mr. Hulk extended an enormous hand and smiled. "Emmett Cullen."

I shook his hand, ignoring the fact that it felt like he stuck it in a freezer until the point of frost bite, and tried to smile back. "Hi," I squeaked. He still scared the shit out of me.

"So it's settled then," Alice chimed in. "My brother and I will meet you at your place after school."

I didn't think there was any way out of this, so I just nodded my head desperately, hoping I didn't look like an incredible idiot.

Alice smiled widely. "Better get to class, Bella. You don't want to be late."

That's when I noticed that we were standing in front of my biology class.

"See you after school Bella," Emmett said as he and his sister started walking away.

As I walked into the classroom, I heard what sounded like a smack followed by a yelp of pain.

"Good job genius," I heard Alice say. "You practically gave the poor girl a coronary."

I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing too hard and walked carefully to the front of the classroom where my teacher was setting up for lecture. I glanced at his desk, located his nameplate and then looked back at him.

"Can you sign this please?" I asked, shoving my schedule in his face.

He looked confused for a second and then regained his composure. "Oh, Isabella Swan," he mumbled, signing the paper and handing it back to me. "You can be lab partners with Edward Cullen."

"Awesome," I said, smiling. I turned around and searched the room for Edward. He wasn't hard to find. I walked over to the table, threw down my books and sat down at the vacant chair next him.

"So," I said. "Your brother scares the shit out of me."

"He tends to do that," Edward replied and then sighed. That was when the weirdest thing happened. He froze up. Like, literally froze. Stiff as a corpse in a meat locker. And then he looked at me as if I were the vilest creature known to man.

Honestly, what was up with this kid? Did I smell bad? I snuck a sniff at my hair; strawberries, completely acceptable, I thought.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. "_Someone's _bipolar," I said, loud enough for only him to hear. I heard him scoff, but nothing more.

The rest of the class was incredibly awkward and I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible when the bell finally rang. Edward beat me to it, though. He was out of that room faster than an addict getting his next high.

I sighed and grabbed my books and tried to follow suit but I was, once again, trapped by Blondie. He moved away when he noticed I wasn't going to stop, though.

"Did you stab Edward Cullen or something?" He asked, walking beside me toward the gym. "I've never seen him look like that before."

I groaned. "Yes, Mike." I decided against using his nickname. "I stabbed Edward Cullen and he hates me for all eternity now." I was, of course, being sarcastic, but you know blondes, they aren't exactly the brightest colors in the crayon box (no offense).

"Why would you stab him?" He asked, his eyes bulging out of his head as he stared at me. I thought he was either going to have an aneurism or one of his eyes was going to pop out of the socket.

"It's called sarcasm, kid," I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of him into the girl's locker room. "Learn it."

- - - - -

Gym class was exactly what I remembered it to be: a complete catastrophe. In Phoenix we were only required to take four semesters of phys ed, but apparently in good old Forks they didn't want their kids being fat. Understandable, I'll give them that, but highly dangerous for a girl like me who can't walk a couple steps without tripping over _something_. Plus, sweat was not my strong suit. It was worse than humidity when it came to ruining my hair.

You can probably tell by now that I'm way too obsessed with that which is on top of my head.

I was glad gym was my last class, because then I could just go home and pity myself for being the clumsiest human being on the planet. I changed back into my clothes, fixed my hair as best I could, and walked over to the office to drop off my schedule.

Ms. Cope smiled genuinely at me this time around and gladly took the piece of paper in my hand.

"I hope you enjoyed your first day," she said.

"It was definitely…interesting," I replied with a smirk and turned to leave. I stopped short, though, when I saw Edward coming through the door.

He took one look at me and walked out of the office again. I followed after him, rushing out of the office faster than I thought I could move without hurting myself or others.

"Edward!" I yelled. "Wait. Please."

He didn't stop, but he slowed down enough for me to catch up.

"I don't know what I did to you," I said rushing the words because I was afraid he'd get that evil look in his eyes again, "but I'm really sorry about whatever it is."

"It's not you," he said, sighing. "Seriously, don't worry about it."

And then he walked away.

Ugh, I groaned. Boys. I was probably going to spend my entire life trying to figure them out.

I spent the entire drive home letting my brief conversation with Edward simmer. _It's not you._ Of course it had to be me! But what about yesterday? He was so nice. So flirty. I thought he liked me. I guess what they say about first impressions didn't apply here.

I rolled my eyes as I slammed the door shut on my truck. I was so into my thoughts that I didn't even notice Alice and Emmett standing on my porch until I literally ran into the two.

"Sorry," I apologized as Emmett lifted me off the ground.

Alice's tinkling giggle sounded. "It's all right Bella. We should have warned you."

I shrugged and unlocked the front door. Charlie was at the station (thank god) and I was certain he wouldn't be back until after I went to bed. Mom had told me how he always liked to take overtime as much as possible.

I led my guests through the house and up the stairs to my bedroom where I instructed them to make themselves at home.

And then I collapsed on my rock of a bed and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Emmett inquired, pulling my computer chair up next to the bed and then sitting like a therapist.

"Your brother is the most confusing human on Earth," I blurted without thinking. "I really hope you know that."

Alice laughed loudly and then quickly stopped herself. I looked at Emmett questioningly. He rolled his eyes and prepared to answer.

"Edward is confusing, I'll give you that," Emmett explained. "But I think you just gotta get to know him a little better."

"You do realize he hates me, right?"

"He doesn't hate you, Bella," Alice said.

"You didn't see the way he looked at me in biology class." I retorted.

"Look," she said, glancing at Emmett before sitting beside me on the bed. "I would explain everything to you if I could, but it's kind of…complicated."

"Just give Edward a little bit of time and he'll warm up to you," Emmett assured. "I promise."

I looked between the siblings and I could tell there was a lot they weren't telling me. But it seemed like it was important that I not know.

"This is one those don't ask, don't tell situations, isn't it?" I gave them both a suspicious glare.

"More like a strictly, need to know basis," Emmett amended.

I nodded. "I can work with that."

- - - - -

The three of us spent the rest of the afternoon bonding and hanging out. Emmett raided my CD collection while I explained why I liked each band he asked me about. At one point he said something about me having an identical taste in music to Edward, but I highly doubted it.

I was right about the Alice thing, though. She really was best friend material. She could never replace Cara, but she was definitely climbing to the top of the list. Emmett was following close behind, too.

I felt so carefree with them. Like I'd known them for years when it was only two days. I felt like I could tell them anything and they wouldn't judge. I could laugh with them. God, I hadn't truly laughed in months. I hadn't felt truly _happy_ in months, either. It was a miracle, to say the least.

Alice and Emmett spent close to an hour trying to explain to me their family. It wasn't that complicated, but I couldn't get over the fact that their parents, Carlisle and Esme, would adopt five children when they were so young themselves. They were truly selfless people. I found out that Edward was the first to be adopted, when he was about six or seven, then Emmett was adopted shortly thereafter. Rosalie and Jasper (the only sibling I hadn't met as of yet) were actually really brother and sister. Twins, to be exact. They were Esme's niece and nephew and were adopted when they were eleven. Alice was the last to join the family when she was thirteen. It was right after the papers were signed that they moved here to Forks.

"You guys have an interesting family," I commented.

"It's the best, though," Emmett replied.

I nodded and smiled. Yes, I agreed silently, what I would give to be a part of your family.

"So are you ever going to tell us how you ended up in Forks?" Alice asked.

I sighed. "That's another story for another time."

Emmett frowned. "Why the long face all of a sudden?" He nudged my chin so I was forced to look at him.

"I just," I sighed again. "I don't really like talking about it."

Alice hit her brother's arm. "Don't push her, Em."

He nodded and dropped the subject.

"Well now that my brother has successfully killed the mood, I think it's time we went home."

I nodded; I didn't want to say how I wanted them to stay.

Alice smiled and came over to give me a hug. "We'll hang out tomorrow. And this time we won't be cruel and make you sit with Jessica and Mike again."

"Sounds good. I felt like a zoo animal today. I was just waiting for someone to start examining me and then point and laugh if I did something amusing to them."

Emmett laughed and it almost shook the whole room. "They probably would eventually."

Alice just rolled her eyes and started pushing her brother out of the room. "See you tomorrow, Bella," she said as she exited the room.


	3. My

**A/n:** sorry this is taking so long. i never get to be alone long enough to write anymore and when i do, i tend to go on tangents. so here you go. enjoy.

review please. i truly love to know what you think.

* * *

Edward didn't show up at school the next day. I figured he wasn't there because of me, but Alice tried to assure me that it wasn't my fault and that when he did come back, just give him a teensy bit of space and he'd open right up.

I felt like she was talking about a dog.

Blondie finally got the picture to leave me alone when he tried talking to me after first period again and Emmett showed up out of nowhere and gave him the death glare. I think it took everything in him not to piss his pants.

Emmett laughed and said it was nothing when I thanked him for saving me and then he walked to me to my next class.

"See you at lunch, Bella." Emmett gathered me up into a hug when we reached the classroom and then he was gone again.

The kids at this school seemed to be just as bipolar as Edward Cullen. Perhaps it was the weather. Either way, it freaked me out. Yesterday, they clearly wanted to get to know the new girl (fresh meat, you know?). Today, though, was a completely different story.

I felt like I was getting glares and dirty looks from every single person, teachers included. I hadn't put much thought into what Jessica had said yesterday at lunch, but maybe she was right. I'd have to ask Alice to explain.

Walking the halls was incredibly awkward when I knew everyone was staring. I hated being the center of attention. I hated being in the spotlight. I wanted them to mind their own business and get a life.

I was so relieved when lunch came around that I practically ran to the cafeteria. Rosalie and Emmett were already there and Emmett motioned me over to the table when he saw me. There was a tray of food waiting for me when I sat down.

"Thanks so much," I beamed at Emmett and he just rolled his eyes. Rosalie laughed at our exchange.

Alice and unknown Cullen number five wandered in a few minutes later. She gave me a one armed hug before sitting down next to me.

"Jasper Hale," unknown Cullen said, reaching his hand out for me to shake. "Pleasure to meet you."

I shook his hand quickly before letting it go. He was freezing. Just like the rest of his family. "You clearly already know I'm Bella."

Jasper grinned and nodded his head.

"So Bella," Emmett said, turning my attention to him. "You're coming over to our house after school, right?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I am?"

"You are," Alice confirmed, nodding her head like she had the last word. Of course, I'd already learned not to bet against Alice. She was right about almost everything. It was almost creepy, so I stopped thinking about it so much.

"Okay," I shrugged. Better to accept it than fight it. Not like I wanted to fight it anyway. "I don't know where you guys live, though."

"I'll drive over with you," Emmett offered. I accepted, of course, and the subject was dropped.

I didn't really feel like eating the salad that Emmett and Rosalie had provided as my lunch, so I sifted around in it and munched on the various the vegetables that were mixed in. Every now and then I would actually listen to bits and pieces of the conversation going on around me, but mostly I was in my own little world.

I couldn't help but keep thinking about what Jessica had said yesterday. For one thing, these people were completely normal. They were nice and caring and accepting. I already felt like family and I'd known them for three days. Sure, they acted like they had secrets, but what family didn't? And I was more than positive that I wouldn't care if I knew anyway, so that was why I didn't push the subject. I had secrets of my own, after all, and I knew how hard it was to open up. They would tell me if they wanted to, when the time was right. And until then, I would continue to be their friend. As for them acting like they were better than the rest of the school, I was sure that was a fallacy. They were well off with their dad being a doctor and all, but they seemed too humble to actually think they were above anybody. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the concept that these people were snobs.

I couldn't stop wondering why Edward reacted the way he did in biology, either. I was fairly certain I hadn't done anything to him. I kept replaying that class over and over in my head. The only thing I could think of was that I might have insulted him when I told him about Emmett. But that still didn't explain the fact that Edward looked like he was in the worst pain of his life. I guess I was never going to find out.

I barely noticed that the bell had rung until Alice tapped me on the shoulder and told me we had to get to class. We all walked together through the quad, but branched off to different buildings after.

Biology was lonely without my lab partner. We didn't do a lab that day, but still, it felt weird being the only kid in the classroom with the whole table to themselves.

I was thankful beyond belief when gym came around (I know, miracle, right?). We were starting a new unit that day, badminton, which meant no physical activity other than sitting on the gym floor listening to the coach explain the game. These were definitely always my favorite days.

Finally, when the end of the day sounded in bell form, I could breathe easier. I changed back into my street clothes and made my way out to the parking lot. Just as I hit the asphalt, my cell phone started ringing. The caller ID read Cara. I smiled wide.

"Hi, honey," I said in my sweetest voice as I put the phone to my ear.

I heard a giggle on the other line. "Hey baby, how are you?"

"I'm fantastic," I responded and realized it was the truth. I had dreaded coming to this town, but already I was starting to like it.

Another giggle. "You sound much better than you did a few days ago. Did you meet a boy?"

I couldn't hide my smile. I was so glad Cara couldn't see me. "Perhaps."

Cara gasped. "What's he like? Is he cute? What's his name?"

Ah. Just like Cara to take on the mother role. I smiled at the thought. Even though my real mom was gone, I still had my best friend to act as a stand in.

"His name is Edward. Yes, he's cute. And he hates me," I said, listing everything off on my fingers. By this time I'd already walked the whole way to my truck where Emmett was waiting impatiently. He was about to say something when I gestured to the phone and then he just held out his hand for my keys. This boy was lucky I knew this vehicle was basically indestructible or I wouldn't let him near the steering column.

Emmett helped me into the passenger seat while Cara blabbed on about how Edward probably didn't really hate me, he just didn't have a chance to get to know me. I tried to interject with my usual phrase of, "you didn't see his face," but she wouldn't have it. I felt like I was talking to Alice again.

Cara made me relay every detail I could remember from the moment I met Edward to the moment I as certain he started hating me. She analyzed everything, trying her hardest to come up with any excuse to justify that he didn't hate me, but the farther into the conversation she got, the more I knew she was just bullshitting.

I decided to change the subject and asked how Evan was.

"I think he's coming down with a cold," Cara reported, taking my bait. "But other than that he's his perfectly happy self. He asked about you the other day." This made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"So you speak toddler now, then." I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Evan wasn't talking in full sentences yet. He still called me Ella because he couldn't say his B's.

Cara sighed like she was frustrated with me. "Bella," she said and I could tell she was rolling her eyes. "Every mother speaks toddler. You should know this."

"Uh huh," I replied slowly, nodding my head for emphasis. "Well, tell him that I love him and I'll visit as soon as I can, okay?"

"I think we'd all like that. We miss you Belle."

I sighed and smiled sadly. "I miss you too. And I love you both, but I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," Cara said. "Text me."

I laughed. "Will do," I said and hung up the phone.

I hadn't paid attention to the drive at all so it felt like we'd gotten to the house in no time. Emmett parked my truck in the same spot that Edward's Volvo was the day I met him. We stepped out and it seemed that instantly everyone was by my side. I shrugged it off, though, and walked with the group of siblings to the front door, which was being opened hastily by a blonde haired man.

"Can't talk, gotta run," he muttered when he noticed us. "Emergency at the hospital."

The man, Carlisle Cullen I presumed, glided down the front stairs and made a bee line for the garage. I turned back around after he disappeared from sight.

Alice rolled her eyes at me. "My dad tends to take his job very seriously."

I smiled softly. "I can tell," I said, and added silently that I should hope so since he was a doctor.

"Come on." Alice nudged my shoulder to get me to move forward. "I want to give you the grand tour."

My smile widened, then. If the house looked this incredible from the outside, I couldn't even imagine what it looked like inside. I was pretty sure I was going to have to prepare to have my breath taken away.

- - - - -

Alice showed me everything. Literally. The house was even more gorgeous than I had imagined. I almost didn't want to touch anything for fear of breaking something super expensive. I didn't want to walk on the carpet, either, because knowing me, I'd stain it with my shoes.

The Cullen's house was homey, but it still had the feel of a museum. It was inviting, very warm and open, yet most of the time the place looked like no one lived there. I knew Esme was a housewife (Alice informed me), so she probably kept the house immaculate considering the time she had on her hands.

We finished the tour in Alice's bedroom. She plopped down on her bed and I joined her, sitting on the edge, feeling kind of out of place.

"You okay there Bella?" Alice asked. I knew she was referring to my awkwardness.

"Uh, yeah," I answered. "Your house is amazing."

Alice smiled. "It is. I still have a hard time getting used to it."

I looked at her questioningly. She rolled her eyes and sat up, beginning her explanation.

"I don't really remember much of my childhood, and maybe that's actually a good thing, but I do remember where I lived before Carlisle and Esme adopted me." She shuddered. "I hate thinking about it. I try to block out those memories as much as possible, you know? But anyway, suffice it to say, I'm definitely eternally grateful that I got lucky enough to be adopted by my parents. I'd never go back to foster homes; not in a million years."

Alice was being vague, but for good reason. I was good at the empathy thing. I tended to feel for people a lot more than I should. That was a big reason why I was more of a listener than a talker.

"I'm really glad you're not saying you're sorry or anything, by the way." Alice added when I was silent. I thought she was being sarcastic, but when I looked at her face, she was completely serious.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I hate pity parties, which is why the past is the past and I always look to the future. It's a lot brighter, anyhow."

"Mm," I nodded. "I know what you mean even though the future terrifies me. I'm more afraid of living than I am of dying."

Alice thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "I guess I know what you mean. Living entails millions of possibilities where dying only has one."

"Exactly," I said and closed the topic of discussion.

There was a light knock on Alice's door and Jasper poked his head in. "Edward's on the phone for you," he said, sticking his hand in the door. Alice jumped off her bed and grabbed the phone from Jasper's hand and put it to her ear.

"Well hello there big brother," she said cheerfully. She paused for Edward's response and took the moment to slip under Jasper and escape from the room. Jasper rolled his eyes and stepped inside.

"She might be a while," he sighed and closed the door.

I raised an eyebrow. "I take it that Alice and Edward are close."

Jasper laughed. "You'd think they were actually related with the way they act around each other."

I shrugged. "That's a good thing, though, isn't it? All five of you seem super close. Kind of makes me wish I had siblings."

"I'll share if you want," he suggested, finally coming over to the bed and sitting down.

I thought his offer over for a millisecond. "I might just have to take you up on that. Don't be surprised if I show up here at random hours of the day and act like this is my house, too."

"I'm fairly certain my parents won't mind. They have that mentality where they think 'the more the merrier.' My mother is probably already planning out your bedroom."

"Okay, you've sold me. Where do I sign up?" I clapped my hands together and bounced up and down.

"I like you," Jasper said between laughs. "You know how to play along."

That caused me to pout. "I thought you were serious…"

The blond scrutinized my face. "You're such a bad liar."

"Damn," I snapped my fingers. "It was worth a try, wasn't it?"

The conversation took a drastic turn after that. Jasper's face went serious and I knew the question he was going to ask before the words even left his mouth.

"You really don't like living with your dad, do you?"

And here is where I could have told the truth. I could have spilled my heart and risked what pieces of it I had left. But I couldn't say everything. Not yet at least. Not until I was sure I could trust them.

So I settled for half of the truth. The more obvious part of it.

"It's not that I don't like living with Charlie," I said, frowning a little. "It's just that he's gone so much I feel like I live alone most of the time. It gets a little lonely."

Jasper nodded. "I know what you mean. I was never really close with Rosalie when we were kids and I was always the kind of loner kid at school, so I never really had that many friends."

I found that hard to believe. I found it _very_ hard to believe.

Maybe I was just crazy, but it seemed like the Cullens and Hales would totally be the most popular people at school if they just talked to the other students. Hell, if you considered how much everyone talked about them already, I was pretty sure they could totally be deemed the popular group.

"You're super cool, Jasper. I really hope you know that."

He laughed lightly and hid his face, embarrassed. When he recovered he looked at me and smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Bella. I can definitely see this turning into a beautiful friendship."

I hoped so. I really hoped so.

- - - - -

Alice came back into the room a few minutes later and found Jasper and me chatting about something or other on her bed. She looked a little surprised when she saw us, but recovered quickly.

"So how's Mr. Psychological Issues?" I asked, poking fun at Edward.

Alice rolled her eyes and Jasper playfully punched my arm.

"He's fine," Alice reported. "And my brother does not have psychological issues, he's just shy."

"Right," I nodded curtly even though I completely didn't agree.

"Did he happen to mention when he was coming home?" Jasper inquired.

Alice nodded and smiled happily. "He's coming home on Friday."

Great. In two days I was going to be subjected to Edward's bipolar tendencies again. If anything happened like it did in biology I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to hang out with him. I had bad enough mood swings myself, I didn't need to deal with them from other people too.

Jasper looked at me and shrugged like he knew exactly what I was feeling. It was comforting to know it, though. At least he sympathized. Alice just acted like everything was going to be peachy when Edward came back from where ever the hell he went to. I was going to ask exactly where he went, but I was probably going to get one of those shaky answers my new friends tended to give me.

Strictly need to know.

I was seriously going to have to get used that. I was usually the one holding back information, and now it was coming from both parties.

Ha.

My relationship with the Cullens was going to be an interesting one indeed.

Jasper excused himself to go finish some homework which left me and Alice alone in her room once again.

"So," Alice started. She got this look on her face like she was completely suspicious. "You and Jasper seem to be hitting it off."

"Oh, I know, right?" I gushed. "He's totally awesome. Best friend material right there, for sure."

Alice laughed.

"And he's totally in love with you, by the way."

She shut up instantly and looked incredibly scared. I laughed.

"W-what did you say?"

I snorted. "Jasper. He's totally in love with you. It's completely obvious, you don't have to pretend. I've seen the way you two look at each other."

"Oh my god," Alice sighed in relief. "You have no idea how much that makes me happy. Everyone at school thinks it's disgusting because we live in the same house, but I didn't even meet Jazz till I was thirteen."

"You two are cute. And it's not disgusting. I had this friend back in Phoenix who was basically in love with her cousin. Practically swooned every time she saw him. But it was okay, because they weren't technically related. They were only step cousins."

Alice rolled her eyes at me as if to say that it wasn't the same thing but she appreciated it anyway. I laughed and we moved onto much more pressing matters.

Well, pressing for her, at least.

I humored her.


	4. Best

**A/n:** Sorry this took so long! I've been way too busy for my own good. I'm bound to crash and burn soon. In getting this chapter out so quickly, I didn't have time to edit very well. Albeit, the chapter is longer than usual, so I hope that makes up for some of it.

It does start out really slow, so bare with me. And it's more of a filler, even though Edward makes his grand reappearance.

Questions? Comments? Criticism? I take it all! Thanks for reading.

* * *

_So Emmett and I have a surprise for you after school_.

I had to read the text three times.

Was Jasper kidding? Seriously? It was only first period for Christ sake, and they were already scheming. This was what I got for hanging out with siblings. They could stay up all night and plot and not even have to leave the comfort of their bedrooms.

I sighed. I knew I hadn't exactly informed my new friends of my aversion to surprises, but honestly, it wasn't that difficult to figure out. Or maybe it was. It wasn't like they could read my mind, after all.

I looked at the text one last time. I really hoped this was a joke. I sighed once again and hit the reply button.

_This had better be good. I hate surprises._

Hm. Perfect.

I pressed SEND and slipped my phone back into my pocket. I tried – really I did – to pay attention to whatever lesson the teacher was presenting, but it was futile attempt. My mind had a tendency of not turning off when I wanted it to.

It was Friday already, I mused. The day Psycho Issues was supposedly coming back from his unknown location. I hoped beyond hope that my surprise didn't involve him. I think I would I die of embarrassment and then kill Alice for trying to set me up with her brother. Or perhaps do that the other way around.

You get my point, right?

- - - - -

In second period, my phone vibrated in my pants pocket, indicating an incoming text. I didn't want to read it for fear of it being from Jasper again.

But, because I am me, and because I am a texting fiend, I couldn't hold out for more than five minutes. My Sidekick was blinking blue when I pulled it out of my pocket. My favorite color when it came to my phone. I hated when it flashed green. It made me feel unloved.

The text was from some number I didn't recognize, but the area code was definitely Forks (I only knew this because of Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie). Who could have gotten my phone number? The only people I had given it to were the Cullens and I knew for a fact that they wouldn't give it to anyone at the school.

I frowned and opened the message.

_Good morning._ It read.

Well that helped a million. Two words did not exactly tell me who I was talking to.

I wrote a message back. _Um, morning? Who is this?_

I hit SEND and forgot all about it.

Blondie continued to try to talk to me whenever Emmett wasn't near. I'd ignore him as best as I could, but I could only be rude for so long. I was starting to feel bad. I usually wasn't this mean of a person, but for some reason, Blondie rubbed me the wrong way. Back in Phoenix a guy like him wouldn't be caught dead talking to a girl like me. I was the cliché, the scene kid, the – and I hated to admit it, because we never do – hipster.

Jocks like Blondie didn't concern themselves with cigarette smoking, hair teasing, legging wearing girls like me. It wasn't normal.

But then again, when was anything in Forks "normal?"

"Mike," I sighed. He stopped talking. I had his full attention now. "Why are you talking to me?"

I wasn't good at beating around the bush.

Ironic since I hated confrontation, but hey, I was just chalk full of contradictions.

Blondie – Mike – stared at me for a second. He was surprised, I could tell. Most people weren't used to having such bluntness thrust in their faces. I knew that because I was faced with reactions like this at least twice on a daily basis. It was a regular thing for me. I wasn't worried.

"Um," he stuttered. "I don't know. I guess you just look like an interesting girl."

Perhaps.

Maybe I was just too used to going to a school with almost four thousand people. Forks High was too small for the big city clichés I was used to. Here, the black kids didn't divide off with the other black kids. The Hispanic kids didn't wear freakishly long shorts with high white socks and talk like they were gangsters. The popular people in this school were popular based solely on the fact that they were jocks and cheerleaders. At my old school, the popular crowd was known for sleeping with each other, getting drunk on a regular basis, and knowing exactly where to get the best weed.

I wasn't used to this small town thing. It was freaking me out. Clichés worked for me. They compartmentalized life into something that was easy to recognize, something that made sense.

I sighed again. "I'm really not that interesting. Maybe you should talk to Jessica. She's got the biggest crush on you anyway."

Mike got that surprised look on his face again. Maybe I was just too observant for my own good. Or maybe everyone here was just blind. Maybe it was just Mike. He had no idea that Jessica was practically in love with him. How daft could he be?

I rolled my eyes and returned to listening to the teachers lecture.

I tried my best to zone out during the rest of class. I just wasn't up for paying much attention today. I had no idea why, but then again when did I ever know why I was feeling some way? I sighed when my phone vibrated again and prayed to god it was a text from one of my friends back home.

No such luck. It was from the unknown number again.

_Oh, oops._ It read. _It's Edward, sorry. =/_

Edward? Huh? How the hell did Mr. Bipolar get my phone number? I asked him the same thing and then saved his number in my contacts under Psycho Boy. I thought he'd appreciate that if he ever saw it.

He texted back almost immediately. I smiled. Maybe he was just as much of a freak with this as I was. I hoped so. Either way, it made me happy. My biggest pet peeve when it came to cell phone etiquette was when I asked a question through a text and didn't get an answer back for hours, if at all. It drove me crazy.

I opened his latest message.

_Alice gave it to me,_ Edward wrote. _I hope that isn't a bad thing. I'll leave you alone if you want..._

NO!!! I mentally shouted. I would be crazy to tell a guy as pretty as him to stop talking to me.

I looked up at the teacher to make sure I wasn't going to get caught for texting in class and then started typing.

_Don't worry, you're not in trouble. It's Alice I'm mad at. So, what's up? I heard you're coming back today._

That seemed sufficient. I sent the message and pocketed my phone. His reply was instant, yet again, but I couldn't check it because the teacher demanded I start paying attention and take notes.

Ugh. I was dying to read it.

- - - - -

Edward and I texted back and forth the entire day. When we ran out of things talk about around lunch time, we alternated asking questions. Most of them were random get to know each other kinds of questions, but some were deeper, more philosophical inquiries.

I was sitting at the lunch table with everyone when I got another text. It was from Cara this time.

_Hi, I love you._ It read.

I smiled, tried to contain my girly shriek, but it didn't work too well. Four faces looked at me curiously.

"Well, _someone_ seems incredibly happy," Jasper commented.

I glared at him and wrote Cara a text back.

_Hi, I love you more._

"What's got you all girly?" Alice asked, hopeful.

"I'm text flirting." I beamed.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "With who?"

"With Cara, of course. Who else would I have 'I love you more' fights with?"

Emmett looked incredibly confused. "You're flirting with a girl?" he asked and I laughed.

"Harmless fun, Emmett. She's been the only person in my life that hasn't left me. She's honestly the only one I truly trust."

As the words left my mouth, I realized how true they were. I never thought about it much, because Cara was the only constant in my life, even after she moved. But it was true that she was the only person who hadn't left me. Cara was the only person who stayed even though she was so far away. In my book, it constituted unwavering trust me. And with me, trust was hard to come by.

"She seems like one hell of a friend," Jasper said.

I smiled sadly, wishing she were here. "She is. I really wish you could meet her."

I was snapped out of my nostalgic state by another text. I smiled deviously and opened it.

_Impossible, _it read. _I love you most._

I rolled my eyes. Two could play at this game.

_Nah uh, _I wrote back, _I love you mostest. And I just invented that word. So ha!_

Cara and I did this entirely too often, I realized. And people always got the wrong idea. But then again, this was my business, not theirs.

"You are one strange girl, Bella," Emmett commented.

I shrugged and plucked a fry from his tray. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now, are you going to tell me what surprise you and Jasper have planned for me after school?"

Emmett smirked at me and shook his head. "You're not getting it out of me that easily, Swan. Sorry."

I snapped my finger. "Damn. Well, I tried."

The bell finally rang, and the five of us shuffled out of the cafeteria. Emmett and Alice ventured off to their classes, leaving Jasper, Rosalie and I to walk together. They didn't have classes in the same hall as I did, but they were close enough that we pretty much walked to whole way.

"See you after school, Bella," Rosalie called over her shoulder as she veered off from our trio.

I hesitantly waved at her, still slightly surprised that she didn't hate me.

Jasper tried to disguise his laugh as a cough. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You always assume that people hate you when you first meet them. It's quite amusing."

I wondered if Jasper was just unusually observant, or if I was just incredibly easy to read. I didn't know which answer was better.

"You're creepy sometimes, you know that?"

Jasper shrugged. "I get that a lot. But maybe someday you'll actually know where this is coming from."

"Need to know again, right?" I question, quirking an eyebrow.

Jasper nodded solemnly. I could tell he wanted to tell me, but he couldn't. Not at the moment, anyway.

I patted my friend on the shoulder. "Maybe I'll figure it out and you won't have to tell me."

Jasper smiled, his mood lifting immensely. "I hope so, Bella, I really do. I don't like keeping secrets from you. I know how you've got the trust issue thing."

I rolled my eyes, and just before walking into biology I said over my shoulder, "Become a therapist, Jazz. You'll be perfect at it."

I could hear him laughing all the way down the hall.

I still had a couple minutes before the final bell rang, so as I sat down at my lab station, I pulled out my phone.

_You know,_ I typed quickly, _bio is really kind of boring without my partner._

Satisfied with the message, I added Edward as the recipient and hit SEND.

Right before the bell rang, I got a reply.

_I know, it must be. _Edward wrote. _I'll make it up to you I swear._

Ha. You better, Cullen. You better.

- - - - -

At the end of the day, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Rosalie decided to torture herself and drive home in the truck with me.

"You know, I could make some improvements to this truck. Make it run a little smoother…a little faster." Rosalie rubbed a hand across the dash board while she stared at me.

I eyed her suspiciously before turning my attention back to the road. "How much is it going to cost me?" I asked wearily.

Rosalie smiled triumphantly, like she'd already won the battle. It made her even more beautiful, if that was even possible. "Won't cost you a penny, except maybe having to endure being driven to school for a couple days while I work on this baby."

I tapped my chin in thought. "I'll think about it."

"You won't regret it Bella," Rose gushed. "I'll get this thing running better than new. I can even give it a paint job. Fire engine red instead of rust."

"I said I'll think about it," I laughed and almost blurted out that if she made it candy apple red instead, we'd have a deal.

"Fine, fine," she held up her hands in defeat. "I promise you won't regret it, though."

After that, we were silent the rest of the way to my house. Emmett's jeep was already in the driveway when we arrived. Leave it to him to beat me to my own house. I sighed and pulled in next to him.

"'Bout time you two showed up!" Emmett bellowed as soon as the truck doors opened. "We have a competition to get to!" This is when he lifted up his arms and showed off the funky white device he was carrying.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing.

"Only the best game console, _ever_," Emmett answered.

I looked to Rosalie for confirmation and all I got him return was her rolling her eyes. Clearly Emmett needed professional help. Perhaps he could go with his other brother.

Emmett noticed my still confused face and sighed. "It's called a Wii, Bella."

Jasper appeared then, seemingly out of nowhere. "Seriously, Bella, it's awesome. Just trust me; you'll be addicted by the end of tonight."

I just shook my head and let everyone inside.

After twenty minutes of watching from the couch as Emmett and Jasper wrestled around with Charlie's TV the whatchamacallit game thingy, they finally got everything hooked up to where it was supposed to be.

My mother didn't allow video games in the house when I was growing up, so I was kind of retarded when it came to that sort of thing. I'd played Super Nintendo at a friend's house sporadically through middle school, so I sort of knew the logistics. This was definitely going to be an interesting afternoon if the four of them expected me to play a game with them.

I asked if I was going to get a demonstration as to how to play. Emmett and Alice were more than happy to oblige. Jasper huffed and sat down on the couch next to me. I got the feeling he wanted to be one of the first to play.

I rolled my eyes and attempted to be interested as the pair started a game of virtual tennis. As I watched, though, I had to admit that it was getting more interesting as the game progressed. It was comical seeing two people stand in front of a television screen holding a white stick-like controller and wave their arms as if they were handling a tennis racket. On top of that, Emmett and Alice were _really_ into the game.

I had to stifle a laugh on more than one occasion.

When Alice had successfully beaten Emmett at two of the three matches, I was asked if I wanted to take a shot at playing.

I shrugged. "Why not." I got up from the couch and grabbed the game controller from Emmett.

While Emmett showed me how to work the controller, Alice stared thoughtfully at the screen.

"Jasper," she said suddenly. He perked up. "Tennis or bowling?"

He blinked a couple of times before answering. "Bowling. It's easier for first timers."

I couldn't help but get slightly excited. I knew how to bowl. Albeit, video game bowling was probably a whole hell of a lot different from the real thing, but still, I at least knew what I was doing.

Alice went first to show me which buttons to push. She knocked down every pin except one, but picked it up in the spare.

And now it was my turn.

I focused on the screen, calculating where on the lane my virtual self should be standing. Using the arrows, I moved the character slightly to the left, so the ball would hit the first pin at an angle instead of straight on. After I was satisfied with my stance, I threw my arm back and built up the momentum on the game to just the perfect spot and let the ball go.

It rushed down the lane, hitting the pins precisely where I wanted it to and hey, look at that, I got a strike. I smiled triumphantly to myself and stepped back to allow Alice her turn.

"Beginners luck," she mumbled, looking at me in her peripheral vision. Jasper and I both bit back laughs.

She finally gave up on the whole 'beginners luck' thing when I beat her. Perfect score, three hundred game. I rock.

Alice huffed, being a sore loser to the new comer and demanded a rematch. I rolled my eyes and asked Jasper if he wanted a turn, but he graciously told me to go right ahead.

So, I positioned myself accordingly on the television screen and threw the ball down the lane.

Strike.

Alice gripped the controller tighter and I almost thought she might break it, but then, almost instantly, she was calm again and able to take her turn.

After I beat her again, Alice finally declared that she wouldn't play against me anymore. At least at bowling, anyway. I laughed and gave her a hug and told her I was sorry for beating her so bad. I mean seriously, two perfect games in a row? There had to be something wrong with the game. Even I wasn't that lucky.

"How did you do that anyway?" Rose asked finally.

I shrugged and gave the least amount of details possible. "My mom and I were in bowling league once."

She seemed satisfied with the answer, and for that I was immensely grateful. I hated talking about my past, my mother especially. The subject was still touchy enough that I almost wanted to cry. And I hated crying. With a passion.

"Smoke break!" I announced suddenly and bounded out of the living room and towards the front door. I grabbed a jacket on my way out, the one I knew had my pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

I stepped outside and walked over to my truck where I lifted myself up and sat on the edge of the truck bed. I smiled to myself as I pulled the pack of menthols from the jacket pocket and took one from the pack. I set it on the side of the truck next to me and lit the cigarette in my mouth.

And I took the longest drag I could muster.

And I savored the minty feeling in my throat as the smoke lingered before I blew it out.

Best feeling in the world.

I sighed happily to myself and enjoyed the light headed feeling that always came from my first cigarette of the day.

I took another drag on my cigarette and blew the smoke out just as I saw a shiny Volvo glide to a stop in front of my house. I knew that Volvo.

As Edward stepped out of the driver's seat and sauntered his way over to me, I got the biggest smirk on my face.

"Well, well, well," I said, quirking an eyebrow. "Look what we have here."

Edward came to a stop about three or four feet away from me, but he didn't say anything.

I held out my pack of cigarettes. "Want one?" I asked, trying to be polite.

He shook his head. "Don't smoke."

I smiled. "I figured, but I thought I'd offer anyway, just in case."

He smiled too.

I brought my cigarette to my mouth, but didn't take a pull. Instead, I asked, "So what brings you to my humble abode?"

And then I took a hit and blew the smoke to my left to make sure it didn't hit Edward.

"Alice called me and told me to meet everyone here," he explained. "Do you know what's going on?"

I nodded. "Wii tournament in my living room."

Edward mouthed the word 'oh' and rocked back on his heels.

"So, um," he stuttered out. "I kind of wanted to apologize about bio."

I shrugged it off. "No biggie. You have issues, I understand."

When Edward started to protest I laughed. I jumped off the edge of my truck, landing slightly closer to him, threw my cigarette on the ground and smashed it with my shoe.

"I was just kidding, Edward," I said, looking back up at him. "You really need to learn the art of sarcasm."

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes. "Because it's such an art."

"Ahh," I smiled widely at him. "You learn quickly, grasshopper."

Edward just laughed and shook his head at me.

We stayed outside for a few minutes longer before we (and by we, I mean me) decided it was too cold out there, so we finally rejoined his siblings.

I was glad to see that they hadn't completely destroyed my house, and Emmett hadn't raided my kitchen. Something told me he ate a lot. But then again, he could just be on steroids. I almost snickered at the thought.

Jasper and Rosalie were going head to head on a game of Mario Kart and I honestly did snicker from the hilarity of it.

I went to the couch and sat crisscross applesauce in the middle, which didn't leave Edward much of a choice other than on the left or right of me. I didn't mean for it to be like that, I just tended to gravitate toward the middle of things.

Hence why I seemed to always get in the middle of drama back in Phoenix even if I was trying my damndest not to.

Edward seemed to hesitate for a second, giving Alice a significant look that I couldn't decipher and then, ever so slowly, he sat down next to me. As far away as the couch would allow. I didn't know how I should have reacted, since Edward seemed fine when we were outside together, so I decided just to deal with it the way I always did.

I sent a massive text to everyone in the room. Sans Edward of course.

Oh how I loved talking about a person behind their back in front of their face through texting.

The joys of technology.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and flipped it open, careful to angle the screen so Edward couldn't see. When I put in all the numbers to send it to, I finally started typing.

_Do you think he's gonna go all bipolar on me again? Should I be worried?_

I smirked and sent the message.

And I was so glad everyone knew to keep their phone's on vibrate.

I was also _so_ happy that they were so good at hiding the fact that they all got texts at the same time.

Emmett was the first to reply. "You're good, Bella," he said out loud. "I'm pretty sure it's safe."

Alice agreed. "The situation has been assessed and we deem it secure."

I cracked a wider smile.

Edward glanced around the room, throwing a confused around, but no one answered him.

The rest of the afternoon seemed to proceed in the same fashion. We played video games – most of which I was horrible at – and we all texted back and forth about various things without anyone else's knowledge.

It was fun.

I finally felt content and happy.

This was a long time coming and by the time Emmett was starting to pack up the Wii and everyone was piling into cars to go home, I was wondering how long this happiness would last.


	5. To

A/n: Here it is. Sorry it took like 6 months. heh.

this chapter might seem a little weird, because it's taking me a little time to get back into this character, but i'll find her again, i promise.

Enjoy.

* * *

Dreams sucked. Especially when I remembered them vividly. And more especially when they didn't make sense.

I woke up the next morning shaking my head and whispering to myself that dreams like that were all kinds of fucked up. I got ready in a haze; I was auto pilot for the most part. It wasn't until I was leaning in as close as possible to my mirror and applying my eye liner that I glanced at my phone on my night stand.

It was blinking blue.

And how could I have no heard that thing vibrate last night? I never understood how sometimes I slept like a rock and other times a feather could drop and I was practically jumping out of bed.

Chalk full of contradictions, even while I sleep.

I finished my make-up and then grabbed my phone and checked the message.

It was from Rosalie.

_I'm stealing your truck today, fyi, so you're going to have to hitch a ride with Edward after school._

Peachy.

I quickly hit reply and typed a message.

_Thanks for the heads up, but I thought I said I'd think about it…_

After I grabbed my backpack and slipped on my Rite-Aid slip-ons, I got another text.

_Yeah,_ Rosalie replied,_ I know you did. But I went ahead and made the decision for you. Hope you don't mind._

I rolled my eyes and pocketed my phone. It wasn't worth a reply.

When I got to school, there was a parking spot next to Edward's Volvo open and I knew it had my name written all over it. I slid into the space, making sure I went in straight. I was super anal about parking. I hated not being perfectly straight within the lines. I swear it was the one (okay, one of many) thing I was OCD about.

Jasper was at my door and opening it before I even turned off the engine.

I smiled at him and he helped me out of the truck. "Why thank you kind sir."

Jasper played along. "You are very welcome, pretty lady."

I laughed and shoved his arm. He faked pain.

We walked over to where the rest of his family was congregating and joined the group.

"Good morning all!" I chirped. I wondered where my mood was coming from. Just ten minutes ago I was convinced today was completely going to suck. I had a feeling Jasper had something to do with it, but I shook it off and enjoyed it. Good moods were always welcome as far as I was concerned. "Oh, Rose, about my truck. Can you make it candy apple red instead of fire truck red?"

She smiled brightly at me. "Of course I can."

"Perfect. You're amazing."

She basked in the compliment. "I try."

The bell rang and signaled the beginning of the school day. There seemed to be a collective sigh within our group and we all turned toward the buildings and began walking. We seemed to couple off, which meant I was stuck walking next to Psycho Boy until he veered off to his first period.

This was awkward.

And I hated awkward.

"So how 'bout them Lakers?" I asked out of nowhere.

Edward shook his head and laughed silently. "I don't really follow basketball, to tell you the truth."

I sighed in relief. "Good, because I don't like organized sports and if you had started talking about them I probably would have lost you already."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Awkward silences," I said, "freak me out. Not a fan at all."

"We have something in common, then." Edward replied, smiling at me.

"Really?" I questioned rhetorically. "I dunno, you just seem like the kind of guy who prefers silence."

Edward shook his head. "Silence scares me. I can't handle it. If I'm alone, then I have to be listening to music or watching television. Something, anything. Any kind of noise and I'm good. And when I'm talking to people, if the conversation goes flat and things get awkward, I feel weird. I start fidgeting and I just _need_ to talk about something."

I stopped mid step and stared at the gorgeous, issue-ridden, bipolar boy in front of me. "I feel like you're stealing my thoughts and saying them back to me."

He laughed. "You, too, then?"

I nodded and continued walking with him. I was still a little freaked out that he was so much like me in that aspect. I had never met another person who hated silence as much as I did.

Maybe Edward Cullen wasn't going to be so bad after all.

- - - - -

The rest of the day was kind of a blur. I zoned out for most of my classes, only paying attention when it was completely necessary. Everyone at lunch kind of let me be, which made me super happy. I was quickly falling madly in love with my new group of friends.

It was after school that things got a little interesting. I had completely forgotten that Rosalie was commandeering my truck for modifications and she practically detached my head from my shoulders when I tried to leave the parking lot.

As I watched Rosalie drive away in my truck, I leaned in close to Jasper, who just happened to be standing next to me.

"Does Bipolar Disorder run in your family or something?" I asked.

Jasper laughed. "Nah, that's just Edward. Although Rose does get a little high maintenance sometimes."

I quirked an eyebrow. "_That_ was high maintenance? She looked like she wanted to murder me."

"I think she was just afraid you'd changed your mind about her fixing your truck. She gets really into cars."

"Yeah, no kidding." I scoffed and started making my way to Edward's Volvo.

Edward was already standing by the driver's side door, waiting for me to arrive. It was probably obvious that I was still a little shaken by my encounter with Rosalie, because he gave me a sympathetic look.

"She isn't always like that I promise," he said, apologizing for his sibling.

I shook it off. "No issue. I know she's not like that all the time. Apparently only when it involves motor vehicles."

Edward laughed and climbed in the car. I followed suit and looked in the backseat for Jasper, Alice, and Emmett. I frowned when I found it empty.

"Where's everyone else?"

Edward shrugged and glided out of the parking space. He shifted into first gear and began to drive away from the school. I could tell this situation had been carefully planned.

And I knew exactly who the culprit was.

Alice was getting a piece of my mind later tonight.

The car ride was pretty quiet except for the occasional question like: how was your day? Was class as boring for you as it was for me? Did you _see_ what Lauren was wearing today?

We fell silent when we pulled up to my house. Edward parked in my usual spot and exited the car. He walked around the front and opened my door for me.

"Thanks," I smiled up at him. He held my hand for balance as I got out and I tried not to notice how cold his skin was. "This totally makes up for the ride you owed me, I hope you know."

Edward snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't remember so I could drive you somewhere again."

"Did you have anywhere in mind?"

"Anywhere what?" He seemed confused.

"Anywhere you wanted to drive me," I said, being more specific.

Edward smiled. "I did actually. I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me this weekend."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Dinner?"

"Yeah…"

"As in you and me?" To demonstrate, I pointed to me and then Edward and repeated a couple of times.

He looked like he was getting a little frustrated. It was kind of cute. I'd have to do this more often. "Yes. Dinner. Together. As in you and me eating at a restaurant across from each other. Maybe even engaging in a little conversation."

I smiled wide. "Okay. As long as you don't take me to some cheesy Mexican place, I'm good. Spicy food and I don't really agree."

Edward brightened up considerably. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

He was already heading to his car when I asked, "What's going on tomorrow morning?"

"I'm picking you up since Rose won't be done with your truck till Sunday."

"Right," I said, not even bothering to be upset. No point, I thought.

- - - - -

Charlie didn't bother saying anything to me other than a quick hello when he rolled into the house around 7:30. I had nothing more to say to him than a quiet reply before I slipped out the back door and headed for the tree in the back corner of the property.

There, as expected, was what I could only assume were the beginnings of a tree house. Up the trunk of the tree were five small rectangles of wood, hammered in tightly so they wouldn't move. Sitting at the base of the limbs was the beginning of the foundation of the would-be tree house, but whoever was making it never even bothered to finish.

It was good for me now, though, because it was the perfect place for me to just sit and relax. It was nice, despite the cool breeze and constant threat of rainfall, to sit in a tree and just be. When I discovered my little sanctuary a few days ago, I'd immediately christened it as mine and began blueprints in my head of the wonderful creations I could make out of this tree. Problem was, I wasn't any good at making blueprints (even in my head) and I was terrible at crafts (one semester of woodshop did me in – don't ask).

It was a nice thought, though. And always fun to dream.

I climbed up the makeshift ladder and pulled myself onto the floor. As I settled in and pulled my jacket ever tighter around my body, I took one large breath, held it for a couple seconds, and released.

And then I lit up a cigarette.

The tree slash wannabe tree house was the only place around my house that I could smoke without my father knowing. And God knew if he found out, I was pretty sure he'd lock me in one of the holding cells down at the station. I was willing to risk it by coming out to the backyard, but I wasn't willing to risk much. I was extra super duper careful. I'd even brought a plastic (waterproof, duh) box out here to store a bottle of perfume, my carton of cigarettes, and a couple of lighters just in case.

In the middle of my second cigarette (I was chain smoking for the hell of it), my phone rang.

I looked at the screen and the caller ID said CARA CALLING.

I smiled instantly and answered. "Hi!"

Silence.

I hesitated for a moment and then said, "Hello?"

There was muffled static and then breathing. I was beginning to get a little freaked out.

"Cara?" I tried again. "Seriously, this isn't funny." I took a drag of my cigarette.

"Momma," a voice said. I instantly recognized it as Evan's.

I sighed in relief and rolled my eyes. "Evan, honey, can you give mommy the phone?"

"No!" he exclaimed happily.

Oh boy, I thought. This was going to be interesting. Why was it that children always learned the word no before they learned yes?

After much deliberating with an almost two-year-old, Cara finally got a hold of her phone. By that time, though, I was about ready to just crack up laughing. Even though Evan couldn't talk much yet, what he could say were probably the most random things ever. And mix in the gibberish baby talk and you had yourself an almost limitless entertainment source.

"I am so sorry about that," Cara said, bringing me back to the present.

I snorted. "No worries. I love the kid. Can't wait till he can actually hand over the phone when I ask, though. Not gonna lie."

"I can't either. He digs through my purse so he can play with my phone and then he goes through my phone book and calls anyone who has a picture next to their name."

"It scares me that your son knows how to work your phone," I pointed out.

And in all ironic seriousness she said, "Oh me too."

I laughed and then Cara took the opportunity to launch into one of her rants about how Michael (her fiancé) was being stupid again. I half paid attention, like always, throwing in the appropriate responses when needed. By the time I realized what was really happening, it was well past dark and I was actually somewhat surprised that Charlie hadn't come looking for me yet. Then again, I did sneak out when he wasn't looking, and he probably liked that he couldn't find me.

I sighed, which made Cara fall silent. "I'm sorry; I've been going on and on, haven't I? It's just that I'm so stressed and you're the only person I can talk to and I miss you so much sometimes I feel like I can't deal with this and I wish they had let you move in with me and…"

I waited. This was typical Cara. Ramble till she ran out of breath, and then lose her train of thought.

"…Ugh." She finished. "I love you."

I had to smile. "I love you, too, Cara. And everything will be alright, I promise. Just take a deep breath and relax."

She was silent for the next half minute and I knew she was taking my advice. She always did. I was one of the few people Cara actually listened to. And visa versa, come to think of it.

"I gotta go," I told her. "I'll talk to you later, though, okay? Love you so so much."

"I love you, too, Bella. Hang in there. I just know something cool is going to happen to you soon."

As I hung up the phone, I realized I'd completely forgotten to tell her about my date this weekend with Edward. Instead of even texting her, though, I shrugged my shoulders, sprayed some perfume on me and made my way back into the house.

- - - - -

It wasn't until I was taking off my makeup that I noticed the blue blinking light on my phone. I wondered when I had gotten a message. Was it before I talked to Evan and Cara? After? I didn't recall feeling and/or hearing my phone vibrate so it must have been during the call.

I finished wiping off my eyeliner and mascara and checked my phone. Five messages and they all seemed to be from a Cullen or a Hale.

Oh wait, they were.

I started from the most recent and worked my way down.

Emmett: _please please please tell me I left my Econ book in your locker. I can't find it anywhere. I'm dead without it._

I laughed lightly. That was what he got for begging to use my locker solely because it was closer to his Econ class. And it wasn't like Jasper wasn't in his class the same period, so he wasn't completely dead.

I didn't bother replying because there really was no point.

Edward (AKA Psycho Boy): _Be at your house at 7:30, hope that's okay._

I quickly replied that it was fine, I'd be ready, and moved on.

Alice:_ Was it seven inches or nine inches, I forget. _

She was talking about making her regular jeans into skinny jeans. I forgot I'd mentioned how the process went the other day at lunch. I was surprised she was already attempting to re-hem something.

I hit the reply button on my phone and typed. _It depends on how big you want your skinny jeans to be. If you want them more like boot cut, then make the opening bigger, but if you want them to be skin tight, like mine, then make the opening smaller. Experiment with different sizes and find what works for you._

Satisfied, I sent the message, waited for it to be delivered and read the next one.

Jasper: _Good night soon-to-be-best-friend. _

Oh Jasper. He seemed to know everything, didn't he? I wasn't even going to bother trying to argue with him on the fact that he thought we were going to be best friends. Though I had to admit, I wasn't much opposed to the idea.

Rosalie:_ So I ordered all the parts for your truck, got what I could done today, and I'm starting on the paint tomorrow. It's coming along nicely, I hope you like it as much as I do._

I smiled at this one. I liked that Rose was keeping me updated, like I was a part of the process as more than just the girl whose truck it was. It made me feel more connected and intertwined with what was going on. I hadn't felt like that in such a long time, it was almost so foreign that it freaked me out. It still kind of made me want to cut ties while I still had a chance to run away mostly unscathed. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was already in too deep to stop now.

And that scared me a lot more than it should have.


End file.
